Housing as Niche Construction

Housing is constructed by and for people. Once used housing becomes part of one’s meaningful relations with the environment. These relations have been investigated in terms of many types of factors, although socio-biological aspects remain underexposed in housing research. It is also apparent that people do not just modify their own environments, but also pass these man-made surroundings on to their descendants. Niche construction theory provides a framework that incorporates both the man-made aspect of environments as well as its historical dimension. According to niche construction theory humans do not only adapt to their selective environments, but also make these environments themselves. The theory also argues that they pass these man-made environments on to their descendants through a process called ecological inheritance. This paper explores whether it is promising to consider housing from a niche construction perspective, and, if so, how strands of current housing research fit into this framework.